


Emotionally Compromised

by ChocoSwirlz



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Gen, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Good Friend, Panic Attack, Post-Episode: Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux | Sanders Sides
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:15:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29693496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChocoSwirlz/pseuds/ChocoSwirlz
Summary: [Prompt: Panic Attack]Logan has a panic attack. Luckily, Patton is there to help.
Relationships: Logic | Logan Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2092440
Comments: 1
Kudos: 10





	Emotionally Compromised

Logan didn’t so much as spare a glance up from his work when he heard a knock at the door. Logan knew who it was even before they spoke.

“Logan? Can... can we talk? Please?”

Logan sighed. “I’m rather busy right now, Patton,” he called with slightly more bite than intended.

“I only wanna make sure you’re okay. I won’t stay long, I promise.”

For a moment, Logan considered opening the door.

_Lowdowns Patton skip all skip all SKIP ALL_ \--

“Logan?”

Logan blinked, returning to his plane of (somewhat) existence. He released a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding and glanced around in confusion. What had just happened?

“Apologies, Patton. I suppose... you may come in. So long as this ‘talk’ you’re proposing is, as you claim, only brief.”

It wasn’t hard to imagine Patton grinning as Logan unlocked the door with a wave of his hand, allowing the moral Side to enter. The moment he stepped across the threshold, Logan looked up.

The two of them locked eyes.

Logan’s tie suddenly felt too tight around his neck, choking him. His throat felt as if it were constricting and the feeling was horrible and _why couldn’t he breathe_ \--

There was a hand on his arm. He flinched slightly and the hand pulled away. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Patton’s mouth moving as if he was saying something, but Logan couldn’t hear a thing over the blood roaring in his ears.

With all the strength he could muster, Logan grabbed his tie and wrenched it off, throwing it across the room in a frantic attempt to loosen his constricted airways.

The feeling was _unbearable_. It reminded Logan of the shepherd’s crook that had caught him around the neck and dragged him away after Patton had--

His glasses had been removed from his face. He squinted, trying to make sense of the blurred shapes all around him.

The hand was on his arm again.

This time, he didn’t move.

This time, the hand stayed.

“--ed you to breathe, okay? In for four, hold for seven, out for eight.”

Logan took in a sharp breath as Patton’s voice filtered in through his panic--

Ah.

He was having a panic attack.

At his desk.

In front of Patton.

How humiliating.

Despite the countless thoughts running through his head, Logan tried his best to breathe.

_In for four... hold for_ \--

Logan’s breath caught and stuttered. He glanced over at Patton, who smiled encouragingly.

“That was a great start, Lo. Do you want some help?”

Logan wanted to decline. He wanted to dismiss Patton and not have to see him.

_**Skip all**_.

Logan flinched. Patton’s hand began oh-so-very gently rubbing his arm.

Logan’s jaw clenched and tears sprung to his eyes.

“ _Please_.”

Patton nodded understandingly. “Okay, I’m gonna tap out the counts on your arm. All you’ve gotta do is breathe. You can do it, Lo.”

Logan would never vocally admit it, but he appreciated the encouragement.

Patton began tapping Logan’s arm with a finger, counting under his breath as he did so. Logan breathed with the taps, counting mentally.

_In, two, three, four_ \-- _hold, two, three, four, five, six, seven_ \-- _out, two, three, four, five_ \--

Logan coughed and inhaled shakily, breaking the cycle. Patton simply smiled, spoke more words of encouragement and restarted the exercise.

_In, two, three, four_ \-- _hold, two, three, four, five, six, seven_ \-- _out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..._

It took a while, but eventually Logan’s erratic breathing fell back into a regular pattern.

God, he was _exhausted_.

His glasses were slid back onto his face. As his vision focused, he looked over at Patton. The moral Side was staring at him, eyes wide with worry.

Logan opened his mouth to speak -- to apologise, but Patton was faster.

“Do you need anything, Lo? Food? Water? I can go get someone else to keep you company if you’d prefer. Or I can leave you alone--”

Logan shook his head. “No. No, please stay, Patton. I... would appreciate the company right now.”

Patton smiled. “Okay. Do you wanna stay here or do you wanna move to your bed? I can imagine you’re pretty tired.”

Logan nodded slowly, and despite not saying a word, Patton interpreted his answer perfectly and waited patiently as his friend got to his feet. Logan’s knees wobbled slightly, but he remained upright. He approached his bed slowly, sensing Patton at his side. When he sat down, Patton sat next to him. Neither Side said a word, opting instead to sit in silence.

Logan decided that, if he wanted to apologise, it was now or never.

“Patton?”

Patton hummed in acknowledgement, motioning for Logan to stand momentarily as he stood, folded the top half of the logical Side’s blanket back and fluffed the pillow. Logan waited until he was able to sit back down to continue.

“I... am sorry.”

Patton looked over at Logan and sat back down, staring at his friend in bewilderment. “Sorry? For what?”

Logan averted his eyes, ashamed. Patton’s brow furrowed.

“Logan, you don’t have to apologise for having a _panic attack_ \--”

“I was emotionally compromised--”

“So what?!” Patton’s outburst came out of nowhere, taking both Sides by surprise. Patton took a deep breath, sighing as he exhaled.

“Being ‘emotionally compromised’ just means you’re _human_ , Lo. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Logan didn’t respond.

Patton reached up towards the paws of the hoodie tied loosely around his shoulders, but stopped halfway. He lowered his hands and curled them in his lap, as if to keep himself from fidgeting.

“This was about the button, wasn’t it.”

A choked noise caught in Logan’s throat. Patton frowned and looked down at his feet.

“I don’t expect you to forgive me for doing what I did anytime soon, if ever, but believe me when I say I didn’t do it because I didn’t care about what you were saying. I was panicking, and -- and I didn’t know what to do. I know that’s no excuse, but just know that I still care about you. We all do.”

For a moment, Logan was speechless.

“Patton...”

Patton looked up at Logan, grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry -- didn’t mean for that to get so sentimental.” He stood, grunting as he stretched his back and arms. “Well, I’ll let you get some rest now. Nobody should disturb you, but I can still lock your door on the way out if you want.”

Logan nodded. “Yes, that would be... satisfactory. Thank you, Patton.”

Patton smiled at his friend one last time before standing and exiting the room, the quiet _click_ of the lock acting as confirmation that no unexpected visitors would enter Logan’s room for a few hours at most.

Away from prying eyes, Logan snapped into his unicorn onesie, relishing in the blanket of warmth it provided. He took his glasses off, placed them on his bedside table and slid under his _actual_ blanket. He pulled the blanket up to his neck -- just beneath his chin -- and closed his eyes.

For the first time in a while, Logan simply breathed, and allowed himself to drift off into a dreamless slumber.


End file.
